The General Systems theory, is said to quote the philosopher Aristotle with the words:

The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts

This is the main theme of the systems approach in the business model: that, together, we can achieve more because we are interdependent.

What this further means is that, within a business, many things are necessary: you need to build it, protect it, feed it, promote it, and keep it functioning at its very best. In a business model that is traditional and systematic, the term "systematic" entails that not one piece can work on its own because the dynamics are a consequence or result of one another. Therefore it would be true to say that the idea of the whole being greater than its individual part is indeed an integral part of the systems approach within a business model of management.